Pursuing Neverland
by whalefairyfandom12
Summary: "The boy turned, a mischievous smile playing at the corner of his lips. "You can call me Peter."" Rated T for many reasons, one of which being a paranoid author.
1. Chapter 1-Reality is Unrealistic

**A.N. I'm sorry chapter one is so short. This is a modern day Peter Pan fic. No offense of religion is meant. I'm sorry if it offends anyone. Please enjoy! :)**

I

The day was normal. A bunch of yawning adolescents stuck in a stifling room, learning the history of our country and other such "life" skills. The day was normal, ordinary-boring even.

Xavier Finnick Clemese-Talihini was trapped in maths, staring at the clock longingly as he tapped his pencil to the rhythm of the clock above.

The scratching of pencils rattled his eardrums. He groaned in frustration, cursing the person who had invented tests.

Willing his paper to miraculously be done for him-correctly, he let his eyes flicker to his sister's, Victoria. Her book was propped open, her quiz long completed.

Unable to bear the pathetic sight of his half-filled quiz any longer, Xavier stood to grab a drink of water from the nearby water fountain.

That was when the gunshots began.

...

"Do you think it's likely he'll wake up anytime soon?"

The voices bounced around the room hushed and frank, careful not to let the girl reading outside the room to hear.

"It looks like a permanent coma," another voice added, full of pity. "I don't think he's ever going to wake up."

A sniffle followed this statement.

"When do we have to-"

"Unplug him?" the first voice said in a businesslike manner. This wasn't the first coma, and it certainly wasn't going to be the last. "When you feel ready."

Unbeknownst to the adults, the girl outside could hear every word sprouting out of their mouths.

Her name was Victoria.

Victoria clutches her book to her chest, nestling herself back on her chair, away from the door. She had heard enough to know. Xavier wasn't coming back.

The door creaked open and her mother stepped out, Victoria steeling her expression.

"Ready?" she asked wearily, eyes rimmed with red.

Victoria simply nodded and followed her mother out the door.

She climbed in the car and slams the door shut as the engine sputters to life.

One look at Victoria's facade and her mother knew she had heard every bit.

"Victoria, I'm so sorry," her mother said, angst written across her features.

There was that word again, _sorry_. Victoria had heard it too many times this past month Sorry for Xavier's coma, sorry that the shooting had even happened, sorry that she had had to watch the whole thing, and sorry about her face.

Truthfully, she hated the word. Sorry was meaningless.

Victoria shut out the world, opening her book once more. There was a time for despair and sorrow, but now was not it.

"Are you reading _Peter Pan_ again?" her mother asked.

Victoria flashed the book cover at her mom. "It's my favorite book," she said. She had another reason, of course but she knew better than to talk to anyone about it. She had learned that the hard way.

To Victoria, Neverland wasn't just an island. And Peter wasn't just a boy. In her mind, Peter was an angel who guided children to Neverland after they died. Which made Neverland Heaven, or wherever you believe you'll go after you die. To an outsider, her visions seemed slightly warped. But to Victoria, they made perfect since. Peter was an angel who guided children to Neverland. Children like Xavier.

In the case of Wendy Darling and her siblings, she supposed that not everyone who went to Neverland had to stay there. Some could return. And as crazy as it sounded, she hoped that Xavier would be one of them.

Violet was sitting on Victoria's front steps when their van screeched to a halt on the front steps.

"Hey," Violet said, slipping her phone into her pocket. "Hello Mrs. Clemese," she added as Victoria's mother swept up the stairs.

Violet gave her friend a hard once over. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Victoria released a shrug, her inner thoughts carefully concealed in her guarded expression. "Fine. Xavier's not coming back."

Violet's eyes cloud with sympathy. "Tori-I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything," Victoria said not unkindly.

As it happened when most people saw Victoria, a glance was spared to her face, where a fresh, ugly looking scar ran from her left temple to her just above her bottom lip. That was where Violet's eyes traveled as she shoved her hands in her pockets.

"I guess I should go," she said. "See you."

"Yeah, bye," Victoria said, relieved. She had never possessed extraordinary social skills, and the few that she had seemed to have vanished.

Victoria climbed the stairs to her room, flipping open _Peter Pan_ as she went.

...

_The window flew open with a tremendous burst. _

_ Victoria sat bolt upright, gray eyes flashing as she rose to close it._

_ "Hello?" she asked the open air. "Anyone there?"_

_ Nothing but the wind answered her question. _

_ Victoria yawned and firmly latched the window, climbing back into bed. Her eyes were shut before her head hit the pillow. _

_ A swift shadow drifted over the sleeping girl, a glowing light hovering by their left shoulder. _

_ Their intentions were far from malicious, but for the moment they were content to simply watch. _

...


	2. Chapter 2-All Monster's Are Human

II

Victoria ran her hands along the tombstones as she walked through the graveyard. She lowered herself on the stone bench, her book once again beside her. She picked it up, opening it to a random page.

"Wendy and John and Michael stood on tip-toe in the air to get their first sight of the island. Strange to say, they all recognized it at once, and until fear fell upon them they hailed it, not as something long dreamt of and seen at last, but as a familiar friend to whom they were returning home for the holidays-"

Footsteps interrupted Victoria as she slammed her book shut, hiding it behind her back.

"What're you reading?" a voice asked. Victoria looked up to find a pair of bright green colored eyes meeting her's levelly.

"Peter Pan," she said. Honestly, Peter Pan was about fifteen reading levels below hers, but to her it felt ageless.

The intruder nods, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned and walked away. His red hair shone in the sun, and Victoria could barely stifle a sharp gasp of surprise. This boy looked exactly like Peter.

"What's your name?" she voiced.

The boy turned, a mischievous smile playing at the corner of his lips. "You can call me Peter."

Victoria struggled to keep her expression impassive. "Last name?"

Peter turned, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to know my address and phone number too?" Victoria flushed.

"Sorry."

Peter flashed a smile. "What do they call you?"

"Victoria," Victoria said. "Although sometimes my friends call me Tori, but I can't stand it."

"Okay then, Victoria," Peter said with another mischievous grin. "Here to visit someone, or here to enjoy the scenery?"

Victoria sighed. "Reading. It's quiet here."

"That is is," Peter noted.

"Are you new here?" Victoria asked.

"Yeah," Peter said. "I'll be going to seventh grade once the school opens back up."

Victoria frowned again. Peter seemed to be about her age, around twelve or thirteen. Around the age of Peter Pan.

"Why did the school close down anyway?" Peter asked. The question was harmless enough, but the mere scrutiny of his gaze unnerved her. For once he hadn't said anything about her face, which she appreciated, but this question could be only be tailed by one about the scar. Victoria's hand flew to said scar.

"There was a shooting," she said. Like a movie, the events of the previous month begin to flash before her eyes. But this movie had to be broken, because there wasn't any pause button, anyway to freeze the movie and escape it.

"I see," Peter said quietly. He sat next to Victoria on the bench, apparently quiet. Victoria exhaled a breath she wasn't aware she had been holding.

"I've got to go," she said apologetically. "I'll see you around."

"Bye," said Peter, still staring at the horizon.

...

The draft from the open window ruffled the curtains. The form drifted over the bed again, their gaze sharp and alert. It wasn't their time-not yet, but seeing as as the Other's passing effected them, it was past time for them to know. Victoria mutters something incoherent and turns in her sleep. The figure stares for a moment longer before turning and flying out the open window.

...


End file.
